rp_angelsfandomcom-20200214-history
Dragon RP
I don't really know why I made another page, but I'm running with it. Berin Discovery: It was an accident - a complete accident, Berin had knocked over some papers while cleaning his uncle’s room, and when he put them back… he hadn’t meant to read them. Not at first… he’d just glanced at the words, that was all. But then… he hadn’t stopped reading them, though that wasn’t entirely his fault either… it was too shocking to stop. He wasn’t even entirely sure what it meant, but the one thing he did know was he had no idea who his uncle was - or wasn’t his uncle, Berin wasn’t even sure what the man was anymore. Skies, Berin wasn’t even sure what to think… if his uncle wasn’t actually his uncle, what did that even mean? What if the man kidnapped him, what did he want with him? Berin couldn’t remember a time when his uncle had ever really hurt him, and it wasn’t as though he felt he was in any danger, but at the same time… he didn’t know his uncle anymore. Or whoever he was… he lied. Berin couldn’t trust anything he said, could he… Heart suddenly pounding, Berin wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but he couldn’t stay there. His uncle would be getting back in a few days… so Berin had until then to figure out what to do, or even where to go. If nothing else, he knew the man would follow after him, so he had to get as far away as possible if he didn’t want to be found again. Which, he didn’t… he didn’t want to be there anymore. Swallowing hard, Berin quickly ran to his room, searching for the largest bag he could find while he desperately tried to figure out what to bring with him. He’d need clothes… and food, but he also wanted to take his art supplies, and he knew he’d need a blanket. But when he found the bag, it looked a little small to carry all of that… maybe… maybe his uncle still had his old bag that he’d take with him on long trips. He didn’t use it that much anymore, but if Berin could find it… Though it took a while to find, Berin finally had the bag, and it was far larger than his own. After running back to his room, he stuffed his own bag full of his things - his favorite books and his art supplies. Then his clothes, his blanket, all the food his uncle left him, everything else went into the larger one. He really wasn’t sure what else he needed… If nothing else, he knew he wouldn’t be able to come back if he forgot anything… so he looked over his room. There really wasn’t much left, all of his artwork was safely tucked between the pages of his sketchbook, and he didn’t have all that many books. Then for everything else… a blanket, clothes, and food would cover that, right? After a little more deliberation, Berin decided to take a knife from the kitchen and a map from his uncle’s desk before going over to the large window in the living room that his uncle always took when going on a trip. He’d never done this before… but he had to get a headstart, too. He only had a day… He really wasn’t sure he wanted to go, but it was either this or face his uncle. Taking a deep breath to calm his heart, he first lowered the two bags down with the pulley before lowering himself down. Then not moving, legs frozen as he paused, tried to breathe - he had no idea what he was going to do now. After who knew how long, Berin finally turned, hefted up his bags, and started walking. Found in the Forest: He swallowed, carefully stepping over fallen trees as he followed a trail of ruby-red drops beading on top of the rocks and green moss. Large gashes in the forest floor churned up fresh dirt, and tiny pools of blood gathered at the bottom. Whatever left the gashes, whatever knocked over trees and branches and crushed them into splinters, whatever bled this much and hadn’t already died, was enormous. Against his better judgement, Berin still followed the trail, wondering what could possibly have created all this especially as the destruction gradually disappeared the further he walked. There was less blood here, even if it still strangely sat atop the forest floor in large beads like gemstones that had been scattered along a path. Curiosity fully piqued, Berin continued until he reached a large clearing and immediately froze. In the center, there was a man lying on the ground and panting heavily. Blood pooled around him, marking his body with red trails, and still he was weakly attempting to pull himself towards a cave on the opposite side of the clearing. Suddenly, Berin was running towards him - stopping when the man threw something at him. “Who are you, wha-what do you want?!” Berin raised his hands a little and tried to take a step closer. “My name is Berin, and I’m not going to hurt you. I saw the blood, I thought someone -er, you might need my help… you look like you need it, and I’m not going to leave you out here alone.” The man eyed him suspiciously, but finally nodded. “F-fine…” Quickly, Berin helped the man to his feet. “Do you have bandages in the cave or something…?” The man could only grit his teeth, eyes scrunched until tears formed at the edges. With a his, he nodded. Berin helped him walk to the cave as best as he could. As odd as this was, questions had to wait. Kissing and All That: Berin was so nervous. He liked Correnten, he really did… but even as he kissed Correnten, his mind kept flashing back to what happened in his books. What really seemed to define a relationship… he did want Correnten to think he wanted one, because he did. He really did. Even if he wasn’t sure about the rest of it… Correnten would probably know what to do more than he did. All he probably had to do was, um… he tried to remember what happened in the books without breaking the kiss. Kiss, make noises… Berin couldn’t help but redden a little when he remembered the rest, but he guessed that made sense considering where this was supposed to go. Still, he hesitated a little before pressing back in the kiss, maybe catching Correnten a little off guard, trying to take a little comfort in the small sound Correnten made before reaching for his shirt. Reaching under his shirt, fingers splaying against bare skin- This time, the sound Correnten made was far more surprised, and he suddenly pulled back. Oh shit, was that- what just happened? “S-sorry-” Berin quickly pulled back, straightening… maybe he should move away too? “I- no, it’s not your fault, I just…” Involuntarily, Berin pulled back further; he didn't want to force anything, like the characters in his books did. Not that he could really get anywhere with Correnten anyway, he was much stronger, but still… “I-I didn’t mean to.” “Hey, it’s fine… I just wanted to make sure you were sure about doing anything like that first. Not that I don’t want to be with you and everything, cause I very much do, but… I just want to know you’re absolutely sure about all this, okay?” Swallowing hard, Berin nodded, face practically on fire. He messed up, he’d messed up so bad… he wasn’t sure what he did wrong, even, he did everything exactly like in the books, so what did that make… whatever this was? Was it even a relationship? “Hey… you okay?” “What did I do wrong,” he blurted out, heart skittering when he realized he couldn’t stop the rest of his words. “I don’t understand what I did wrong, it’s supposed to be that and then a relationship, that’s always what was in my books, but I don’t know what this means, wh-what - do y-you not like me enough for that, I-I don’t-” “Berin - Berin, calm down, breathe for a second. What books are you talking about?” “The…” he sniffed. “The ones m-my uncle gave me…” Correnten paused for a moment. “Okay. Well they don’t sound like they’re really good authorities on what a relationship is supposed to look like… that-” he swallowed, reddening a little. “I-I mean sex is something different, it’s really intimate and you’ve gotta be sure about something like that… and you don’t need it to have a relationship with someone. A lot of people don’t at all, or they wait until they’re ready… I just don’t want you to feel later on like you made a mistake doing that too soon, or feeling like I took advantage of you. But I would really like a relationship with you, if that’s what you want…” Berin sniffed again, trying to really comprehend it all. It made a little sense, he guessed, but… “I-I do want a relationship… but h-how does it work, then?” Correnten shrugged. “You go on dates, spend time together… based on how comfortable you are with it, there’s kissing or hand-holding or cuddling… sometimes people will sleep in the same bed, but they won’t do anything beyond that. It just depends, we figure that out as we go, the important thing is learning about each other.” Nodding, Berin rubbed at his eyes. “Okay. I guess that makes more sense…” “Good, I’m glad… c’mere, can I hug you?” he had paused mid-reach, but Berin was already nodding and leaning into his arms. Dragon Tower AU Dragon Tower Meeting: Berin had no idea what was thundering on the roof, clambering around with progressively smaller, but still just as loud thuds. Heart pounding, Berin snapped his book shut and ran for the nearest hiding spot he could, closing the cabinet door after him just as he heard whatever it was jiggling the handle of the latch on the door leading to the roof. Forcing himself to stay silent, he listened to the intruder shut the door behind them, then go completely silent. Then there was swishing of fabric, the creak of the floor – as best as Berin could tell, they were at the window… were they checking for something? Skies, he hoped no one else was there, he didn’t know what to do; his uncle wouldn’t be there for a long time, and he had nowhere to go. The tower was supposed to be safe… After what felt like an eternity, he could hear the intruder rifling around, looking over the room with increasingly louder creaks. Hopefully they weren’t looking for him… his uncle warned him about this, about people who were hunting for him, dangerous ones who wanted him for some mysterious purpose. Though he didn’t really know the reason, it didn’t much matter with someone in his home trying to find him. Swallowing hard, Berin grasped his book tighter, hearing the intruder get closer and closer to his hiding spot… skies, what was he going to do?! His heart stopped when the door started to open, panic compelling him to smack the intruder right in the face with his book. The man only flinched, staring at Berin wide-eyed and wary. “Who the fuck are you?” Oh dear. Terrified, Berin hit him again, practically threw the book at him, before running for the kitchen. Heart pounding, Berin slammed the door shut behind him, locking it and dragging a chair over to wedge under the latch. Panting slightly, Berin backed away, unsure of what to do now. With nowhere else to go and his uncle still seven days out, all he could do was wait. He could hear the man on the other side of the door. “Wait, listen…” the man’s words were muffled by the door, but still managed to scare Berin enough to grab a frying pan. Just in case. “I think we got off on the wrong foot… I’m not here to hurt you, I just needed to hide from some people who were following me for a bit… I just need some water and food, and I’ll be on my way when the coast is clear, I won’t touch you. You don’t have to hide from me.” Berin still didn’t even go hear the door, not remotely interested in trusting someone who broke in. And who was impervious to being hit with a book. “Who-who are you?” He didn’t hear anything for a moment. “My name is Correnten. I’m from place, and on my way to different place, but I was attacked on the way. I’m just seeking supplies and maybe shelter for the night, if you would allow me.” “I-I don’t know where those are, wh-why were you attacked, why are you here?!” There was another pause. “I was attacked because they wanted my supplies – and they got them. I’m here because I was attacked close-by and ran here to hide from them. Please, sir, if you come out I can show you a map…” Sir…? Was he a sir? “Wh-why would I need to see a map?” “So I can show you these places.” The man gave a sigh. “Listen, I’ll be out of here as soon as possible. Can you show me to some supplies? Please? I can give you money for them, I’m not interested in stealing anything.” Berin didn’t know what to say, didn’t even know what the man was talking about with money. For all he knew, this Correnten was lying to him, trying to lure him out in order to take him away, never to see his uncle again. Skies knew what would happen to him after that, his uncle only mentioned how people would use him, for magic or… other things. It was the other things that scared Berin the most. Maybe he should just stay put, otherwise… no, he really didn’t want to be kidnapped. “Now that I know it’s not abandoned, I don’t want to rifle through your stuff, man, just come out. I’ll keep my hands where you can see them.” “H-how do I know you’re not going to hurt me?” “Can you trust me?” There was a pause. “I promise I won’t.” Well… if he promised, then Berin supposed it was safe. Still holding onto the frying pan, he pulled away the chair and unlocked the door, watching Correnten carefully when he stepped out of the kitchen. As he did so, Correnten backed off, held his hands out while smiling. Berin’s heart fluttered. “Wh-what was it that you needed…?” “A few days’ worth of food. Water. Clothes, if you can spare some…” “I-I don’t know if I have anything that will fit you… m-maybe something of my uncle’s…” “That would be nice, thank you. Is he here?” Berin shook his head. “N-not right now…” “Should I stay and thank him for his clothes?” “You w-would have to wait a while to do that…” “How long? Cause I gotta get going soon…” “A… a week…” Berin shifted nervously, still watching Correnten carefully. The man had a nice face, plus he promised… there probably wasn’t anything to worry about. The man nodded. “I can’t wait that long, I’m sorry…” “It’s – that’s fine, yeah, I’ll-I’ll get the clothes…” With that, he quickly left Correnten standing there. As long as he left soon… he looked nice, Berin liked his eyes and his smile, but he still didn’t know anything about him. If nothing else, he hadn’t made an attempt to hurt Berin, or even grab him, just as promised. Quickly, Berin set down his pan and dug through his uncle’s closet for something old that might fit Correnten. After finding a few suitable items, he went back – Correnten hadn’t moved much – and tentatively handed them to him. “I-I don’t have much food left, but there’s water in the kitchen or washroom…” he pointed as he spoke, still watching Correnten carefully. “Alright, thank you… Can I change in the, um… washroom?” “Yes,” Berin nodded. Watched Correnten nod back and walk towards the small room… maybe he should make something for the both of them to eat. His uncle only left enough food for Berin for the time he’d be gone, but there was probably enough… With slight hesitation, he walked into the kitchen, intending to make something. Black Magic: Tarran In all Tarran’s years, he’d run headfirst into far stranger battles. It wasn’t often he dealt with dragons, though he fought with the people - the friends, enemies - attacking the beast far too many times. Under other circumstances, he wouldn’t have gotten involved. The dragon was his son’s protector now, infinitely more than capable and at least twice as safe for Berin as anything Tarran could provide at the Court… but this was different. The dragon did not possess the magic needed to save his son. It was unthinkingly he launched himself into the battle and fought off his enemies, then impulsively that he ran to his son’s writhing body - only to be knocked away, flying over twenty feet before slamming to the ground and rolling into a pillar. Damn dragon - he’d miscalculated. And forgotten the large red beast bearing down on him. Leaping to his feet, his hand was on his blade in an instant, blocking the slash of claws before he dove beneath the dragon and quickly rolled himself out from under. Closer to Berin. He could see the gasps wracking Berin’s chest, the sweat rolling down his forehead - Tarran ducked to avoid a flash of teeth aimed for his neck. “ENOUGH,” he flung out his hand, and by extension the dragon - scales and claws knocked out of him as he hit a pillar, and the dazed boy leftover slumping to the ground. “I’m here to help, but if you don’t let me near Berin, he’s going to die!” Despite his words, the dragon’s lip curled, showing off nearly inhuman teeth. “Who are you, how do you know his name?!” “Would you rather waste time on that or give him a chance to survive? Face it, sir-dragon, you do not have the power to save him. Let me heal him and then I will go.” The boy stared at him, teeth still bared. “If you so much as look at him wrong, I’ll tear your fucking body apart.” Tarran didn’t ask for more of an invitation, slipping his sword back into its sheath and striding towards Berin. Already, he was choking over nothing, twitching, as the human half of him fought desperately against the far less than human part. Fought to stay present. Tearing Berin apart… Tarran had seen this once before, an attempt to “heal” the child of two races. An attempt to eradicate the "undesirable" part. An attempt that failed horrifically. “Hold him down,” Tarran told the dragon watching him closely, gently cupping Berin’s burning face while the dragon held Berin’s shoulders. Taking a deep breath, Tarran closed his eyes and focused. He had to stop the disgusting magic forcing his son to expel part of himself. He began his song. Beneath his fingers, Berin suddenly jerked as Tarran’s magic took hold, gasping for air as though he’d been drowning - shuddering violently and crying out while Tarran’s song purged the magic from Berin’s body. Barely, Tarran heard the dragon yelling at him. Barely he could feel the burning, charring feeling of black magic rushing out through him like a divining rod. He only focused on continuing the song until the magic was gone, until Berin slumped back with a whimper. He let out the breath he’d been holding, reluctantly pulling his hands away while he looked at his son’s now peaceful face. The steady rise and fall of his chest. Skies, he had been so long… his boy was all grown up. “What happened to him,” the dragon brought him back, tone somewhere between accusation and thanks. “Black magic. Trying to get rid of anything human and replace it with everything else.” “His ears are different now.” That was a blatant accusation. “I can’t fix everything.” The dragon sighed, something that sounded suspiciously like a growl. “Who are you, how did you know who he is and that he was in trouble.” “My name is Tarran. As for how I knew, I’m Berin’s father. I keep an eye on him.” The dragon was suspicious, maybe rightfully so. “I don’t believe you, he was in a tower most of his life for fuck’s sake. If you were his father - if you gave a damn about him before this, you would’ve gotten him out of there!” Tarran’s lip twitched. “I thought he was dead until you took him out of that tower and broke whatever enchantments were on him. I didn’t approach him for fear he’d be stolen away from me again. I allowed him to stay under your care and protection because my enemies would not dare face a dragon themselves, and I only came now because they tried to - to destroy him with their filthy, disgusting magic as if he needed to be ‘fixed’. I don’t care if you believe me, but you damn well shouldn’t make assumptions on appearances. Should you.” In that somewhat icy silence, Tarran stood. “Take care of my son, sir-dragon, or my next visit will not be as benevolent in nature.” The dragon gave an unimpressed huff, but Tarran paid it no mind. Whirling around, he left without another word. Pirate Dragon AU Attacked and Captured: “Whatever happens, you run and hide. Got it, Berin? You stay hidden.” Terrified out of his mind, Berin nodded, pulse racing in his ears almost as loud as Alysson’s voice. Of all the things, a dragon attacked the ship and was now carrying it - hadn’t set it down yet, and Berin wasn’t sure it would even be set down. Already, Berin could feel those threatening tendrils of magic struggling to break free, to save him from the threat - Berin didn’t dare let it. Evil people used magic, and he wasn’t evil. Which left him with only one option: focus completely on what Alysson told him. At least until someone yelled to brace, then everything was a blur as Berin held on as tight as possible to the column Alysson had strapped him to. The ship shuddered slightly and fell, a heavy thud rattling the ship’s timbers and driving all the breath from Berin, leaning heavily to the side as it settled into the shallow waters and sand below. Berin couldn’t move from where he fell, fear and shock rooting him to the spot even while Alysson grabbed his arm and hauled him up, unstrapped him from the column. From the deck, there was yelling - what sounded like fighting, drawing Berin’s complete attention. At least until Alysson dragged him over to the window. “Come on, Berin, remember what I said?” What had she said? Swallowing hard, Berin nodded. “Good. You get to that tree line over there and hide - this island isn’t very big, so stay low until I find you.” “H-how do I get down?” Alysson pointed out the window. “You’re going to jump, just how I showed you when you got on the ship.” Heart pounding, Berin could only stare; the window was small, and the drop was still significant even with the ship leaning over. “You can do this, up you get…” Alysson helped him perch in the window, trying to keep him calm as his panic skyrocketed. “Remember what I said, alright? Get to the tree line and hide.” Gripping the window frame tightly, Berin quickly shook his head. “I can’t - I don’t want to-” it was way too high to be jumping, and then hiding from a dragon in a scary new place… Splintering wood could be heard from the front of the ship, fighting and yelling and screaming sounding closer and closer - one of the doors broke, one of the crewmembers hitting the wooden deck hard and groaning weakly. Through the door, Berin could see a flash of red scales and sharp teeth and claws glittering fearsomely in the sunlight. Everything in Berin’s body froze instantly. “You have to jump,” Alysson reminded him. “I don’t wanna…” Berin couldn’t tell if he wanted to scream or cry in terror. “I know. It’s going to be okay, Berin…” Without warning, strong hands shoved him into open air, ripping a scream from Berin as he fell - just barely remembering what Alysson said before hitting the water. Panicked and clawing at the water in a sad attempt at swimming, Berin managed to get to where he could feel sand beneath his feet and struggle onto shore, falling to his knees and panting hard. Behind him, he could hear the dragon’s keening and bellowing, the once-raging fight dying down as numbers dwindled. Thoughtlessly, he turned back just as the great, reddish eye of the dragon flicked towards him. Fear gripping him, Berin forced himself to run for the trees as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was going, let alone cared at that point; he just ran. Only when the sounds of the fight and the dragon died down did he slow, try hard to calm himself down… He managed to find a hollowed tree covered in vines to hide in. In some sense, it was far worse just waiting… but at the same time, it felt so much safer there, hidden from everything and everyone. He just hoped Alysson would be okay… It was long enough for him to doze off a bit, unsure of what woke him up until he heard the footsteps. Panic flared in his chest once more, and he stayed absolutely still as he watched legs step into view. Pause, twisting as whoever it was looked around and walked off again. Berin still didn’t move, barely able to breathe while he waited. Listened. There were footsteps right next to him, right where he couldn’t see. Heard them pause. Then circle again - the man crouched in front of his hiding spot, meeting Berin’s gaze with a piercing hazel gaze that froze his blood. “I see you,” was all he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Berin was completely frozen, shock impairing any ability he had to do anything. Too much fear keeping him from running, let alone lashing out. “I need you back at the ship with the rest of your crew. Come on,” he coaxed, gesturing for Berin to leave his hiding spot. But all Berin could do in his panic was gulp at the air, tears pricking at his eyes as the reality of the situation slammed into him. He didn’t know if the man would hurt him, wished he were home and not here… “Wh-what’re you g-going to do…?” he managed to get out, almost unable to breathe anymore. “I’m going to help you treat all the crew members that are injured, and then give you all some rules. Okay? I won’t hurt you as long as you don’t put up a fight.” That didn’t sound so bad… nodding and sniffing, Berin wiped at his eyes. “Okay…” Stiffly, he climbed out of his hiding spot, wiping his eyes again. “Th-they’re not m-my crew, b-but I can h-help…” “Thank you…” He waited until Berin was clear of the vines before gesturing where to go and starting to walk that way; Berin followed him. “So you’re a passenger then?” “Y-yeah… i-it’s my uncle’s ship, h-he’s sending me to country…” “Oh? Why is that?” Watching his feet very closely, Berin swallowed nervously. “I’m-I’m supposed to marry someone…” Risking a glance up, Berin could see the man frown; was it wrong to be nervous? “Looking forward to it?” “I-I guess… I don’t know… I’ve-I’ve never been to country, or even m-met them before…“ “Oh… so this was arranged?” “Yeah…” “Well, if you want, I’ll take you there. Just going to need some time first before that happens.” Berin hesitated slightly, unsure if he really wanted that… he hadn’t really wanted to go there in the first place. But it wasn’t as if he had anywhere else to go. “Okay…” “You’re going to have to give me their address too once we get back to the ship. What’s your name, kid?” “O-okay, I’ll try…” he sniffed. “M-my name is Berin…” “Nice to meet you, Berin. I’m Correnten, Dragon of the Seven Seas.” “N-nice to meet you too…” The man flashed him a grin, but the rest of the relatively short walk to the beach was silent. Giving Berin enough time to relax at least a little bit… the man seemed nice enough, even after Berin had seen him overpower the crew. Nice, but there was still a hidden strength around him… Berin swallowed, hoping everything would turn out okay. Headache: Berin recognized the signs of a headache without fail, as his uncle would get them somewhat frequently. Fingers rubbing temples, hands running across foreheads as though that would solve the growing pressure within the skull… Correnten looked like that now, hunched over at the captain’s desk and trying to hold back a growing sigh. It looked painful, always painful… Berin didn’t like seeing people in pain. “Would you like me to make your headache go away?” he broke the silence tentatively; it was always best to ask first, just in case. Correnten gave a small, low grunt. “Sure, go ahead…” He didn’t really look up at Berin, even as he moved Correnten’s hands and gently cupped his face. Exhaling softly, Correnten leaned the tiniest bit into Berin‘s hands, as though the touch helped somehow. Well, he’d feel much better in a moment for sure… Gently humming, Berin closed his eyes as tendrils of power flowed from his fingertips, caressing Correnten’s face and head as it removed the pain. Quickly, faster than medicine his uncle had said. It didn’t take long before Berin paused, assessing to make sure the headache was truly gone, before the power snapped back. Then he opened his eyes. Correnten was staring at him wide-eyed, utterly shocked. Fear jolting through him, Berin quickly removed his hands. “What-what was that?” though not unfriendly, Correnten’s tone still panicked him. Wringing his hands together, Berin wracked his brain trying to figure out why Correnten would react like this; what did he do wrong? “I-I’m sorry, I j-just made the headache go away like you wanted, I d-didn’t mean to do anything bad…” “What else can you do?” the forcefulness of his tone made Berin wince, terrified of what Correnten was going to do. He didn’t understand… “Th-that’s all…” he said weakly, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He hadn’t meant to cause this… did Correnten think he was doing magic? That was utterly ridiculous. Correnten sighed, sitting back in his chair. “Just healing then?” he rubbed his face. “Okay… thank you…” “I-I’m really sorry…” Berin’s voice was shaking. “H-headaches are the only things I know how to fix a-and I wanted to help…” “I forgive you, I just- I didn’t expect that. Took me by surprise. Sorry for scaring you…” there was still enough of a tone to make Berin question whether this was really okay. “I appreciate the help.” He could see and hear the apprehension in Correnten, as if he found out something deeply wrong. But Berin hadn’t done magic, he wasn’t bad - it couldn’t be that, so what was it? “You’re-you’re sure…?” “I am. You didn’t know I’d react that way.” Correnten was still a little terse. “Okay…” was all he said before curling up in his own chair, wishing he could hide forever. He hadn’t meant to do anything wrong… Magic Boy Talks to Local Dragon, Local Dragon Loses: “What did I do wrong?” he finally blurted out after another painfully awkward evening where Correnten didn’t say much and sometimes looked at him strangely if he made a sudden move. Correnten furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about?” “You… I-I… you’ve b-been acting weird e-ever since I helped you with your headache…” he shifted, wringing his hands together. “Wh-what did I do wrong?” For a moment, Correnten just stared. “I… look, you didn’t do anything wrong, I just don’t like magic all that much…” Jude’s stomach dropped. “Magic…? N-no, no, I don’t do magic…” “Yeah, you do… how else could you just make a headache go away? That was magic.” Numbly, he shook his head, lip quivering. “N-no it’s not…” For some reason, Correnten looked confused. “Berin, how else do you think that just happens?” “I-I… don’t know… b-but magic is bad, an-and I’m not bad, s-so it can’t be m-magic,” he sobbed. Did Correnten really hate him that much now? He’d already said he didn’t like magic, and now he said Berin had it… it was the only logical conclusion. He just couldn’t understand what else could’ve happened. “I- wait, Berin, what did I…” he trailed off. Either that, or Berin could no longer hear him over his crying. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he didn’t flinch away, he found himself wrapped in a hug. Sobbing into Correnten’s shoulder. “I-I don’t understand,” he choked out. “Hey, hey, I’m sorry… it’s alright, Berin, you didn’t do anything wrong, I’m sorry…” he continued until Berin calmed down a little. Even if he was shuddering as he breathed. “I didn’t mean to upset you… magic isn’t bad all by itself, and I should’ve clarified that before saying anything about it, I’m sorry. You’re not bad, you just need to learn how to use it right is all. And I can help you with that…” Berin sniffed, mulling over Correnten’s words. “Y-you can…?” “Yeah… I had a bad experience with magic a long, long time ago, but that ain’t an excuse for me making you think you’re doing something wrong or I don’t like you.” “S-so you still like me…?” “Yeah, I do. You’re too nice, Berin. I shouldn’t have treated you any differently.” Berin buried his face in Correnten’s shoulder. “I-it’s okay…” “Get yourself together, man, there ain’t no way - none of this is your fault.” Shuddering slightly, Jude shook his head. “B-but I-” “Nope. It’s not your fault. I mean, what’d your uncle ever tell you about it, that it was all bad?” Berin nodded. “Y-yeah, but you don’t like it either…” “Well. Sorta, yeah, but I don’t think being able to do magic makes you bad… Bad people make bad magic. You ain’t a bad person, so.” Berin only shifted slightly, thinking over what Correnten said. Really, he couldn’t argue much with it, but it didn’t mean he believed it either. Even so, he said nothing about that. Correnten would probably just repeat himself again… “Wh-what if I do something bad by accident…?” “You can learn so you don’t do anything by accident… you’ll do just fine.” Nodding, Berin kept his doubts to himself. I don't remember what au this belongs to Not the best thing to start out with, but oh well: Berin wasn’t quite sure what woke him up, but when he did, he saw a figure sitting on the edge of the bed. Pausing, Berin blinked blearily. Was that… no, Correnten wasn’t supposed to get home until morning, at least. From the light - what little there - it had to have been the middle of the night… “Correnten…?” he said quietly, frowning. Something wasn’t right, what… it hit him in one heart-stopping instant; Berin was immediately moving, but before he could get away, get a weapon, there was a hand over his mouth, slamming his head down onto the bed. Berin struggled, kicking and clawing and trying to yell, to get away from his attacker. Quick as a flash, whoever it was snatched Berin’s wrist and pinned it to the headboard, a low, ragged voice muttering something before removing their - his hand. Berin tried to move, but his arm was stuck. What - fuck, fuck, this man used magic. Without much more thought, Berin gathered all his strength, reached for his own magic and sent the man flying off him, terrified while he tried to remove his arm from the headboard. He couldn’t - it was stuck, as if his arm were tied with iron. No - the man was on him again, pinning him at the waist and catching Berin’s other wrist, restraining it in the same way; he covered Berin’s mouth again to muffle his shouts and cries for help. Immediately, Berin tried to wriggle away, one last ditch effort; it was useless, he was hopelessly pinned. “Shh…” the man leaned over Berin’s face, brushing the hair from Berin’s eyes when he tried to scream again. “Shh-sh-sh… Easy now, little deer… Can’t have you doing that.” He muttered some more; Berin could practically feel the magic sewing up his lips, watching, horrified, as the man took his hand away. “There, that’s better…” Berin attempted to struggle, to ask who the fuck this man was, to shout for Correnten, but all he could do was make muffled, throaty noises. “Shush now,” the man tapped his nose, and Berin reluctantly slowed… stopped. Tried to glare, but he knew he looked terrified. “Don’t worry, little deer, you’re perfectly safe… you’ll survive this whole thing just fine.” Then what… Berin struggled slightly when the man bent closer so their noses were touching, his smile widening. What… “I know you want to know who I am, but I’m not going to tell you that. I’m not stupid like those idiots who tried to kidnap you out from under the nose of a dragon. Really, I wouldn’t be here at all if I didn’t have to be…” Berin jerked his head away when the man attempted to trace his jaw. He had no idea what was going on, let alone why… what was this man talking about?! “Ah well. Business is business. Though I can’t say I won’t enjoy this.” Enjoy what - Berin’s stomach dropped when the man moved down to his legs. Frantic, Berin tried to kick, shove, anything to get the man away from him, but the man caught his ankles. Trying desperately to twist out of his grip, Berin kicked again but couldn’t free himself from the man’s iron grip. Without warning, the man laid down on him, pinioning Berin’s legs to the bed. “If you’re not going to behave,” he growled in Berin’s ear, “then I’m going to have to punish you.” Berin’s insides froze, as did his movements. He didn’t want… but skies, no, please… “Better… Don’t make me remind you,” he nipped Berin’s ear as he leaned back up. “Besides, you might actually enjoy it.” He would not. Berin resisted every urge to try to kick the man’s mouth off his face. Witches Get Stitches: It felt like power. Raw, unfiltered, ripping through his veins like flood waters through a dam, tearing nearly everything around him to shreds - unraveling the world around him as easy as breathing. He couldn’t control it, the magic burning around him like wildfire, finally free after days - weeks of being locked tightly away by them - the witches hunting Correnten, torturing Correnten, breaking- He could still see them through his rage and fragmented euphoria, attempting to fight back - too long they kept him prisoner, too long they hurt Correnten. Used him to hurt Correnten, keep him tamed. Magic like fire, licking at his ankles, raging towards them furiously, chasing them. They tried to run, perhaps one made it - but Berin could feel nothing, no remorse as the flames caught one. A hand wrapped around his wrist, and Berin’s head snapped towards the offender. Correnten stared back, fear bright and clear in his face - in his eyes. Confusion melted into his mind like ice. What was Correnten afraid of? He didn’t get the chance to ponder it, exhaustion crashing into him as quickly as the stupor; his legs buckled. ----- Everything hurt on a level he’d never experienced before. He could barely breathe, pain shooting through his body as if his chest were filled with shards of glass and his muscles were nothing but raw nerves. Every movement brought with it a stabbing pain, a new agony to endure. A brush against his cheek sent an unpleasant prickle down into his stomach, and he couldn’t help but whimper at the touch. “Berin…? Berin, please be okay…” Correnten was whispering, brushing his hair back. Berin let out a shaky breath, the sensation almost too much… he couldn’t move, he couldn’t even open his eyes in response. The exhaustion and pain were too much. All he could do was listen while Correnten mumbled things to him, cradled him close… drifting into blissful unconsciousness. ----- He cracked an eye open, just enough to see flickering flames and feel warmth wrapped around him. Time slid by while he stared blankly, until he realized Correnten had wrapped himself around Berin. That they were lying on something soft that was definitely not charred earth. That he was clean, and presumably so was Correnten… None of this explained where he was or what had happened, but he felt safe and far better than he had when he first woke up. The aches still caught him if he moved too suddenly, but he had no desire to do that anyway… he dozed. Correnten moved first, stretching and sitting up, making Berin shiver as cold air hit his back - making him ache. A blanket was quickly tucked around him, easing the pain a bit while he slowly warmed back up. With a small sigh, Correnten got up and prodded at the fire, then immediately stopped when he realized Berin was awake. “Skies, Berin, are you alright?” his tone was urgent, but he hesitated before brushing back Berin’s hair and touching his face. “‘M okay…” he mumbled, surprised he could even speak when his throat felt like he’d swallowed a handful of nails. “Here, let me get you some water…” In an instant, he vanished. Then reappeared just as quickly before helping Berin up just enough to drink as much as he possibly could. Through grateful for the water, Berin was relieved when he could lay back down. “Thanks…” “You’re welcome. Are you still in pain…?” “‘S’not that bad anymore…” “Okay… if it gets bad, though, tell me.” “Mm…” Berin’s eyes felt like they were closing. “Where are we…” “Home… I brought us here after you passed out again.” Berin felt fingers brush his forehead. “You should get some more rest… we can talk later.” Berin didn’t respond, already half asleep and purely focused on the fingers that were now stroking his hair. Correnten Origin "I was born a human, to a human set of parents about three hundred years ago, back before the three countries ran separately. It was all one country run by...I think Queen Zoren?" She paraded through my village once and gave me a shiny copper coin, anyways... We lived in a remote village in present day Country. Mostly soldiers who retired or injured and became farmers lived there, so for the most part there were plenty of food. Then when I was fourteen there was a drought, and it hit us hard. We survived on a surplus for awhile, but we never got many traders, and eventually the surplus began to grow thin. Queen Zoren sent some supplies, but it was a large drought that didn't just affect our village. So I was about sixteen when all of us younger, able men and women decided to hunt in the forest for food. If we could share the food, maybe it would last longer, and it worked for a good amount of time. We hunted and we used what was left of the water for drinking. We weren't well off, but we were surviving. Our hunts grew more fun and less dire... still needed it, but we weren't on the brink of starvation. My last hunt, we decided to go deeper than we had before in hope of catching a moose, or a bear. Anything that would be unaware of our prescence. I broke off from the group and wandered, looking for something big that I could kill and impress everyone with. Instead, I stumbled upon this well-kept little cottage. In the middle of the woods. Miles from any village. I should've turned back to my people, but I was young and foolish, and thought there would be food inside, so I went in. The person who lived there had the biggest stash of chocolate I had ever seen, and I had immediately helped myself to as much as I could fit in my mouth. I hadn't had chocolate since before the drought, and I had felt on top of the world. I stuffed my pockets with as much as I could hold, and then went exploring through the rest of the house, but it seemed empty. Completely desolate. Not a trace of a human... I went to her bedroom, thinking maybe she had taken a nap, but her bed was empty. So I looked around, and on her nightstand was the biggest gem I had ever seen. The only one I had ever seen. It was green, and shiny, and perfect, and since no one seemed to live there, I pocketed it. Then I heard her footsteps coming close, and I panicked, tried to hiding in her closet but she searched the place and found me, pulled me out of the closet by ear while I was blubbering about stealing chocolate and apologizing and offering to make it up to her. Later...later she told me she would've let me go. Would've even given me bread and sent me on my way. I don't know if I should believe that or not, but she-she saw the gem weighing down my pocket and decided to go in, grab it...and then she attacked me. Her skin was like iron, nothing I hit her with affected her, meanwhile she was beating me to the pulp for stealing her precious gem, and once I couldn't see because of the blood in my eyes, she kicked me down her basement and locked the door behind me. I fell all the way down, and laid there almost completely unconscious for who-knows-how long, until I heard my village leader's voice asking if she had seen a boy with my description, or could spare some food. I-I had screamed at the top of my lungs trying to get him to hear me. I dragged myself to the top and pounded on the door, but she had some kind of spell on it, I don't know, the basement was soundproof and he couldn't hear my cries for help, so he left and no one in my village ever came back. She kept me chained in her basement for six years. I won't go through everything she did, but I was experimented on, injected, examined, nearly died several hundred times. She was some kind of witch, because she'd practice spells on me. I was in constant pain that eventually I was numb. One day she dragged me outside and kept me chained to two posts, limbs hanging, and told me I wasn't allowed to leave until I could breathe fire. She went back inside to leave me to practice. I was chained for about a week before I finally managed a small puff out. She was ecstatic that it worked, and spent the rest of the day performing the rest of the spell that I assume allowed me to transition the first time. The first transition was the worst. I felt like I was dying a thousand times over. I thought I had felt true pain, but no... changing into a dragon without knowing you're going to be changing into a dragon is one of the most painful experiences in the world, and I wouldn't subject that to anyone. I couldn't move for three days afterwards. Didn't want to either. She had changed me into a monster. As long as she had the chains on me, I was her monster. And then she wanted to see if my wings worked. She had to take the chains off of the posts. My first flight was difficult, but it was the first time in a long time I actually felt an inkling of freedom. I went back though, she had made me fear what would happen if I escaped and she found me again. So I kept building my strength as a dragon doing test flights and breathing fire. She- I think she planned to ride me to the old capital. I don't know what she would do once there, but considering she spent years turning me into a dragon, it couldn't have been good. I remember she started making not only a saddle, but a collar, and I got more stressed the closer she came to completing it. I didn't want to be her weapon, much less her steed. The day she finished it and tried to put it on me, I struggled for a long time, she hurt me...but in the end I wouldn't let her chain me to her more. I set her on fire. And her house. And half the forest. Some things, like the gem, survived, and I took it with me when I left to find a secluded place to stay and lie low. The forest fire brought a lot of people around to find the cause, and they had seen me fly away. Some of the hunters may have been my village people, and I didn't want to hurt them. So the gem...it's not only my first gem, but the reason I am what I am. If I hadn't taken it, I wouldn't be a dragon. So why have the punishment without the reward? It's mine, and I earned it fair and square."